Imoh in, Humes out as Tech's tailback

Posted 8:48PM on Tuesday 18th October 2005 ( 19 years ago )

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) Mike Imoh is back at tailback for Virginia Tech. After sitting out the 41-14 victory against Marshall to nurse a high ankle sprain, Virginia Tech's co-starter will be back on the job Thursday night when the No. 3 Hokies (6-0, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) visit Byrd Stadium to play Maryland (4-2, 2-1). ``He looks like he's got his quickness back,'' coach Frank Beamer said Tuesday. ``I think he looks good. I think that was the right move, holding him down.'' Imoh's return comes at a good time for the Hokies since Cedric Humes, the other starter, won't play because he broke his arm in the victory against Marshall. After Humes went down, Branden Ore came on and carried 19 times for 146 yards, including a team season-high 45-yard run and a 14-yard touchdown in the second quarter. But Imoh said Ore's success didn't cause him to hurry back. ``I wouldn't say I was anxious to get my job back,'' the senior said. ``I was happy to see there were people that would step up and be able to carry the team.'' Imoh set a school record for 243 yards on the ground in a victory at North Carolina last season, but has struggled to get going this year. In five games, he's carried 65 times for 254 yards, a 4.0 average that trails both Humes (4.2) and Ore (6.0). ``I feel like I have something to prove,'' Imoh said. ``It's hard when you're not able to do the things that you can normally do out there on the field. It's bad.'' TV AT VT: As the Southern Cal at Notre Dame game on Saturday was winding down to its tense finish, Jason Murphy found himself surrounded by teammates in his Blacksburg apartment. Arm in arm, they formed a semicircle around his television. The top-ranked Trojans were down to their final play, and Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Matt Leinart was trying to run for the game-winning touchdown from inside the 1 yard line when Murphy said linebacker Andrew Bowman caused a near uprising. ``Bowman jumped up and he hit my whole television and the television went out,'' Murphy said, adding the blank screens sent everyone but him running from the room. ``I'm trying to scramble and fix it,'' he said, laughing. Murphy eventually got the TV to work again, and when he did, he saw Leinart laying on the ground in the end zone, his touchdown having lifted Southern Cal to victory. Darryl Tapp, one of those that bolted trying to see the ending, said when the group finally saw it, ``there weren't any words at all. We were in total amazement, like shock. We were all sitting there with a dazed face, like, `What just happened?''' A loss by the Trojans would likely have lifted Virginia Tech into the top 2, boosting their chances of playing in the Bowl Championship Series national title game. ``I think in the end, most Tech people would want Southern Cal to lose,'' said Beamer, who watched the game, and several others, with wife Cheryl and son, Shane, who played on the 1999 team that played in the Sugar Bowl national title game. THURSDAY NIGHTS: The Hokies are 10-1 in Thursday night games, and haven't lost since Boston College beat them in 1995 at Lane Stadium. Both were Big East members. These Hokies, who also play next Thursday night at home against the Eagles, are looking forward to a chance to showcase their skills for a national audience. ``I love it,'' Tapp said. ``Only game on TV. It doesn't get any better at this level.'' Beamer, however, said history won't matter when the game starts at Maryland, but that he's largely a fan of the exposure and the atmosphere on Thursday nights. ``I like being the only game on,'' Beamer said. ``If you play well, it's good for recruiting. There's a lot of plusses. If you stink up the place, that's not good.'' (Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

http://accesswdun.com/article/2005/10/123820

Imoh in, Humes out as Tech&#39;s tailback

Imoh in, Humes out as Tech's tailback